Demi Moore Opens Up About Her Recovery: ‘I Was Spiraling Down a Path of Real Self-Destruction’

Demi Moore was named woman of the year at the Peggy Albrecht Friendly House’s 29th Annual Awards Luncheon on Saturday — and she took the opportunity to get candid about her own recovery.

Friendly House offers a “safe, structured and supportive home-like environment” for women recovering from substance use, according to its website. During her acceptance speech at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, the actress, 55, explained why the non-profit’s mission strikes a chord with her.

“I feel like there are defining moments in our lives that shape who we are and the direction we go, and early in my career, I was spiraling down a path of real self-destruction, and no matter what successes I had, I just never felt good enough,” explained Moore, who noted that she was “grateful” for her supportive daughters with ex Bruce Willis, Rumer, 30, Scout, 27, and Tallulah, 24.

“I had absolutely no value for myself,” Moore continued. “And this self-destructive path, it very quickly … brought me to a real crisis point. And it wasn’t clear at the time the reason — maybe it was divine intervention — but two people who I barely knew stepped up and took a stand for me, and they presented me with an opportunity.”

“In fact, it was more like an ultimatum … unless I was dead, that I better show up,” she said. “They gave me a chance to redirect the course of my life before I destroyed everything. Clearly, they saw more of me than I saw of myself. And I’m so grateful because without that opportunity, without their belief in me, I wouldn’t be standing here today.”

Moore went to rehab for drug and alcohol addiction in the mid-1980s. In January 2012, after months of partying and drastic weight loss, Moore collapsed into convulsions at her L.A. home and was hospitalized before going to rehab for addiction and an eating disorder, sources told PEOPLE at the time.

“I know in a moment of great struggle for me, I reached out to a wise teacher and expressed my fear that I wasn’t good enough,” Moore concluded her speech. “And she said, ‘You will never be good enough but you can know the value of your worth. Put down the measuring stick.’ So today, I put down the measuring stick and I thank you for this beautiful acknowledgment and the opportunity to know the value of my worth.”

“I think the root of what really fulfills us in life is being of service,” Moore shared with reporters at the event.

“She listens, and she shared so much wisdom, and she’s been in every one of my birthing rooms and helped deliver every one of my babies,” the former Punky Brewster actress told reporters. “She has always shown up for me, and I love her with all my heart.”

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